


What the Water Gave Me (selected excerpts)

by LazyKitty



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fae & Fairies, Falling In Love, Flirting, M/M, Magic, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Pining, Veela, VicturiGiftExchange2017, jealous viktor, victurigiftexchange, with a pinch of Honeypot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-17 06:21:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13070931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyKitty/pseuds/LazyKitty
Summary: "Yuuri’s eyes grew wide and Viktor tried to resist the tightening disappointment in his chest when Yuuri pulled his arms tightly to his body and inched instinctively away from where Viktor was sitting. He knew what the mortals said about his - their - kind, knew the stories Yuuri must have heard around the fires on Beltane. The only mostly true myths that had survived through each violent spin of the Earth.  "Just a few selected scenes from a (planned) larger story, written for the 2017 Victuuri Gift Exchange.





	1. Excerpt 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [exarite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/exarite/gifts).



> Happy Holidays, Essa (DefiantDreams)!!! Thank you for writing some amazing prompts!! In fact, they were so good that the plot that I outlined spiraled out of control into more of a novella/novel length piece (whoops). I gave my most sincere effort to complete the entire dang thing before the posting date for the exchange, but it was just not feasible with my work schedule. So I decided to post a selection of chapters that I managed to complete that also made the most sense together and spoke to your prompts. I really hope you like them - it was so much fun to write in this AU and I do hope to continue it in the future : )
> 
> Please enjoy my interpretation of your fae/faeries prompt (with honey pot elements because I am weak and read the second sentence of this note again!)

**Excerpt 1**  
_________________________________

 

Viktor closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The smell of rock moss, dirt made of long dead leaves and sloughed tree bark, and dozens of floral notes flooded his senses. It was how the forest was supposed to smell - free of the black smoke and ash of the wildfires that had threatened to consume it before he had halted them. 

Pleased with his work, he smiled and radiated his magic out just a bit more, making the wind just strong enough to dance with the leaves on the trees. Even after centuries of this existence, he was still amazed how his magic could be so delicate one moment and violent the next. 

Viktor resumed his stroll with feather light steps, letting the soil push between his toes as he went. He had a circle in the clearing ahead, though it had been a year or two since he had visited. He licked his lips - the townspeople had always left him the most delicious cakes in exchange for his protection from the destructive fires. They were airy and drizzled with lavender honey, and Viktor truly adored them. 

It was probably too soon for there to be any tokens of thanks just yet, but he wasn’t ready to return to the fae realm. Yakov was probably starting to grow irritated in his fortnight absence. There were likely other contracts that needed Viktor’s attention, but he knew what type they would be and frankly, he was starting to tire of them. The others were perfectly capable in his absence - if there was anything truly pressing, Yakov would contact him. Until then, Viktor could enjoy himself just a bit longer, he decided as he tucked a wild blue rose behind his ear.

“Makkachin.” Viktor whispered the command and pushed it away on a thread of wind. 

Exactly five heartbeats later, an oversized poodle bounded through the gap in the blackberry bushes, tongue and tail wagging in delight. Viktor knelt to press their foreheads together as he scratched behind his familiar’s ears. No one had been able to explain what kind of being Makkachin really was, nor why she had insisted on bonding to him all of those years ago rather than a mortal mage as was more traditional. Whatever the reason, Viktor had stopped caring ages ago. 

“Good girl. Let’s go for a walk, hmm?”

Makkachin trilled in glee, her paws floating just slightly off of the ground, and Viktor felt the air around them warm, ever so slightly, in her joy. They walked for a time, stopping here and there so the familiar could investigate hollowed out tree trunks and chase after some well shaped sticks. It had been far too long since they had done this, he realized with a pang of guilt. 

_All the more reason to talk to Yakov about ‘retirement’,_ he sighed inwardly. Viktor was the best in the fae at what he did, and he had actually liked the art of espionage at one point, especially when the information he gathered helped those in need - mortals and the fae alike. Others could certainly pick up his torch should he leave, but he had a certain skill set that sweetened the deal. He had the best success rate out of all of the specially trained fae agents and his skills had saved so many lives, prevented so many wars, that the thought of stopping felt selfish. It ate at him more and more each day. 

As if she could read his mind, Makkachin bumped her head against the backs of his knees, propelling him onward. ‘Stay with me,’ the gesture said. Viktor smiled down at her and spied a good sized stick on the ground.

“Let’s see what my amazing girl can do,” he cooed, infusing the stick with a pulse of spontaneity. He dropped it into a gust of wind, and they were off. The poodle was a blur bounding from tree to tree as she tracked her target. She would be impossible to see with mortal eyes. Oberon and Titania, was she amazing. 

“Yes, Makkachin!” Viktor cheered as he chased after her, ditching his problems in the heart of the forest for another day.

They played like this for a while, the stick charmed to tease his familiar through obstacles in the forest. She chased it under fallen trees, tracked it through the thick brush as they went. And then, just as the mouth of the sacred clearing was in sight, Viktor heard it - the self-satisfied barks of glee. His familiar had caught her prize. He willed his tired legs to push him just a bit faster, ignoring the itch of his concealed wings as they pleaded with him to shift into his true form. 

Viktor’s feet came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the tree line, his praises sticking in his throat with what he saw. Because while Makkachin had captured something, it certainly was not the enchanted stick, now lazily floating across the meadow to the next patch of trees. He stared at the scene in front of him, listened to the chiming laughter as the poodle showered her catch puppy kisses.

 _It can’t be…_ Viktor thought to himself as he edged closer to the pair, his heart an alarm ringing in his chest. But all of the evidence was right there - the pitch black feathered wings spread against the white and purple clover flowers, the light markings of magical energy against pale skin, the magical aura pulsing with notes of desire, devotion, a deep longing, and something else that could only be described as warmth. The aura was a lot wilder, younger, than Viktor’s was, but there was no mistaking it as he crept closer, nearly in sight now. 

_Go slow, don’t scare him away,_ Viktor reminded himself as he quietly shifted into his natural fae form. He shivered as his silver locks crept down his back, blowing freely in the warm wind. He would usually never present himself like this in the mortal realm, but he felt that their peculiar circumstance required it. Besides, the protective magic of his circle would give him warning should anyone approach. 

Viktor felt the moment that their gazes connected - ice blue to deep chestnut brown. He watched them widen in recognition as he unfurled his own wings, all the while slowly closing the distance between them. Viktor could still feel the heightened defensive state of the man’s aura, though it had lessened slightly over the last few seconds.

“I see you’ve met Makkachin,” Viktor said as he slowly knelt down next to them.

The man remained still, though his eyes moved, tracing over the markings on Viktor’s skin, watching how his white wings glittered in the afternoon sun. The action brought an unfamiliar heat to Viktor’s cheeks, made his heart flip. It had been a very long time since he had run into one of his own kind. Yakov had warned him that it was exceedingly rare for such a great tragedy to happen, and yet…Viktor had never stopped dreaming about this moment. 

He felt the corners of his mouth threaten to twitch upwards, but he held them back feeling that a smile would be inappropriate given the circumstance. The man had changed recently. Viktor could almost taste the sadness shrouding him. Viktor wondered if the man could remember how it happened. He blinked his eyes shut for a moment - it was not his business to ask. 

_Focus…_

“You’re…I…”

Viktor waited patiently for the man to find his thoughts. Their eyes locked again, and he saw the question spelled out in the molten gold specks in his irises. 

_What am I? What happened to me?_

Viktor dropped his gaze to where his hand was covering the man’s - it had traveled there without his permission. He stroked his thumb against the soft skin as he fought back the hope rising in his chest. Viktor was a rarity for his kind, one of the few that found the will to escape the excruciating solitude of their usual existence. He would give the new creature the opportunity to return to the fae with him, but if he refused, Viktor would just have to accept it. But he was getting ahead of himself. 

“Who are you?” _(What are you?)_

Viktor smiled at the suddenness of the outburst and watched as the sweet blush bloomed across the man’s cheeks. He really, really hoped he wouldn’t be making the journey back through the forest alone. Makkachin seemed to agree, flicking her tail against him as she pointedly draped her body over the lap of her new friend.

“Viktor.” It was a struggle to push his true name through his lips. “And you are?”

The man worried at his lip as he raised a wing to shade the poodle from the afternoon sun. “Yuuri.”

 _Yuuri,_ he repeated to himself with a smile. “I know another by a similar name,” Viktor smiled, his thoughts straying to the feisty blonde. “but I like yours better.”

Yuuri offered a hesitant smile that Viktor only wanted to see grow bigger. “Is he…like us?”

Viktor shook his head, smile growing. “Not exactly. Yuri is a more like a traditional faerie - fond of tricks and contract loopholes. We’re…different, more like nymphs I suppose.”

Yuuri held his hands up, flexing his hands, leaving Viktor’s empty as he did so. “I have magic, then?”

Viktor nodded, folding his legs into a more comfortable position. “Elemental, yes. And um, well another kind as well.”

Yuuri looked at him expectantly. _He had to know by now,_ Viktor thought as he watched him curiously. “Do you feel any other…urges?” he pressed gently.

Yuuri hesitated again. “To dance - but that’s always been there. I am - was - a dancer.”

 _Interesting,_ Viktor thought as he leaned closer. “But it’s different now, right?”

Yuuri nodded and Viktor watched as his face turned crimson. It was rather adorable, really.

“But what does that have to do with…oh. _Oh._ ”

Yuuri’s eyes grew wide and Viktor tried to resist the tightening disappointment in his chest when Yuuri pulled his arms tightly to his body and inched instinctively away from where Viktor was sitting. He knew what the mortals said about his - their - kind, knew the stories Yuuri must have heard around the fires on Beltane. The only mostly true myths that had survived through each violent spin of the Earth. 

“We are veela. Or wila, vila, wili…” Viktor said, more quietly this time, only barely reaching the ears of the man and his familiar. “The femme fatale of the forest,” he added with a soft smile.

The young veela’s eyes went wide as his lips parted. “‘…they will sing to you, dance with you. And then they will steal your breath from your lungs and leave you to a cold death in the forest,’” the man quoted. Viktor flinched, but Yuuri appeared not to notice. “Is that really what I am now?”

Viktor sighed, wondering what he could possibly say in this situation. Perhaps the truth was best. “Yes and no - yes, that is the being you are now, what we are. But some of us choose to use our…talents…for other things, to help others,” he offered. 

After a few long moments, Yuuri looked back to Viktor, noticeably a bit calmer. “So what do we do now?”

Viktor couldn’t help the twitch at the corner of his mouth. _We. What do_ we _do now_. He still had to let Yuuri know that there was a choice. 

_Stay with me,_ his lonely heart pleaded.

“It’s up to you. Typically veela live alone, prowling the woods for fleeting seductions and temporary company. It feels a need, a void, an urge… but it’s never… Anyway, I have chosen a different path. Well, sort of, at least. So, if you wanted, you could come back to the fae realm with me. You would refine your magic skills there and participate in our society.”

Yuuri turned his head to look over the hill at the town below. _Did he have family there,_ Viktor wondered. _Maybe a lover?_

His heart squirmed as the silence persisted. Realistically, it probably only lasted a few seconds, but time was supposed to pass faster in the mortal realm right? So perhaps that’s why it felt like hours…he exhaled slowly - patience was difficult to master, it always had been. But this was different - he felt as if his entire life were balanced at the edge of a cliff but he had no control over which way the wind would blow. Yakov and the others in the fae were great, like a family to him. But, how long had he wanted to find someone of his own kind? 

Finally, Yuuri turned back to him and Viktor sat up just a little bit straighter in anticipation. After a brief hesitation flashed through his eyes, the young veela nodded. “Okay.”

Viktor exhaled into a wide smile - he couldn’t help it, he felt like he was about to float away. “Okay?”

Yuuri nodded again, returning a half smile. “Yes, okay.”

“Okay,” he nodded, cringing slightly at the repetitive nature of his blissful mind. Yuuri’s lips pulled up just a bit more, making Viktor’s heart sing. He stood and held out his hand to pull Yuuri to his feet, only just resisting the urge to pull his small form into a tight hug. “Let’s go home, little veela.”

They paused at the edge of the forest where Viktor felt the protection his circle begin to fade, so that they could shift into a safer, more human like form.

“That town in particular, the one over the hill, has been very insistent in keeping our mythology alive in their society. It’s just better if we don’t draw too much attention to ourselves,” Viktor explained when Yuuri started to pout about how his wings were already itching beneath his skin. 

Again, Yuuri’s eyes widened with surprise when he looked upon Viktor’s face. It was Viktor’s turn to blush - as much as he’d been stared at, gawked at by others in his lifetime, it was nothing compared to how this young veela was looking at him now. He liked it, he realized. It felt…real.

“Like what you see?” Viktor teased as he ran his fingers through his newly shortened locks. 

Yuuri gaped at him. “N-no - I mean yes! No!” he stammered, with a cringe.

“It’s okay, Yuuri, I - “

“How long have you had Makkachin?” Yuuri blurted out.

Viktor breathed out a laugh at the ‘smooth’ change in topic. He would allow it, anything to keep his companion with him now. Makkachin was trilling happily at the sound of her name as she fell into stride next to Yuuri. He opened his mouth to respond, but Yuuri beat him to it. 

“It’s just that…I had a poodle when I was growing up - just in the next town over - but he…well, Makkachin looks a lot like him, just bigger so I guess I just wondered if dogs could also…reincarnate, like we do. Did.”

Viktor smiled as a warm memory burst forth in his mind. “I wondered where that little guy went - Makkachin always liked to come with me into town because…” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuuri wipe a hand under his eye. He kicked himself, only now just realizing what Yuuri had been asking - if there was a chance that his toy poodle’s spirit lived on. He supposed he could have been a bit more delicate. 

“Close your eyes, Yuuri,” Viktor said softly as they came to halt in the middle of the forest, the perfect place for their first lesson of the Universe and their place in it. “Do you feel all of the energy around you?”

He watched as Yuuri’s face started to relax. He knew what Yuuri was feeling - the warm and buzzing threads that kept everything connected. “In time, you can follow the threads, identify life by their aural signatures.” He caught Yuuri as he swayed, laughing lightly - he knew very well how powerful it could be, how easy it was to get lost and overwhelmed by those beautiful, soothing pulses of the Earth. “Take your time, don’t do too much at once,” he coaxed. “If you focus on - “

“Vicchan,” Yuuri filled in. 

Viktor smiled. “If you focus on Vicchan, remember his energy, perhaps you can find him again. He might not be in his original form, or any corporeal form at all, but everything always remains. It feeds the Universe, creates magic and beauty everywhere.”

They eventually started moving again, this time in silence, though Viktor was still bursting with questions. About Yuuri’s life, his interests, how old he was (not very by the looks of it), why he was still wearing his glasses…not that Viktor minded, he smiled softly.

Yuuri’s gaze had been fixed on the ground, posture closed off for the greater part of the last half an hour. Viktor didn’t remember this part of things, it had been much too long ago. _Or perhaps you had nothing in your mortal life worth missing,_ he thought sadly. He shook himself from those dark thoughts, turning his thoughts instead to how he could best help Yuuri. 

“Hey Yuuri,” Viktor started, taking the first idea that came to mind. 

Yuuri looked up at him with wide eyes, as if he had forgotten that Viktor was there with him at all. Viktor offered a soft smile as he continued, “Want to try out some magic?”

It was apparently the right suggestion. He could feel the tiny little shift in Yuuri’s aura - excitement, curiosity. 

“You mean now?”

Viktor nodded, smile growing. 

“I’ve never…I don’t know how…”

Viktor waved his hand flippantly, determined to keep the young veela engaged. “It’s fine - you’ll get some more formal training in the fae, but I can show you a few things now, if you’d like,” Viktor said. “I’ve never taught anyone before, but…how hard can it be? It’s a part of us, right?”

In truth, Viktor couldn’t even remember having to learn magic - he’d mastered it long before meeting Yakov and the others (or most of it anyway). He never remembered it being particularly hard…

One hour and one irreparably singed silk tunic later, Viktor was forced to admit that he had been wrong. Oh so very, very wrong. 

He did his best to calm Yuuri down, sharing stories about Yuri’s early mishaps that surely would get him into some serious trouble should the faerie ever find out. Viktor’s nerves were churning until the moment they crossed over into the fae realm and he saw the smile of wonder cross over Yuuri’s face. It wasn’t a true smile, he knew, and it probably wouldn’t be for a long time. But he had a strong feeling that their story was far from over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References note: Yuuri quotes a passage from "Lured from the Path" by Lola White. I have not read the book, but one of her blog posts (Dec. 10, 2013) was helpful during my research and creating my own interpretation of Veela.


	2. Excerpt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This next selection would be a few chapters later in the main story line - a year or two has passed since the end of Excerpt 1.

**Excerpt 2**  
_________________________________

“Remember that you are the most tasty pork cutlet bowl in the land. Know it,” Viktor smiled as he rubbed the honey salve into the warm pink flesh of Yuuri’s lips. “Your voice makes their mouths water with hunger. Your mouth is the perfect wet heat of the fried cutlet that they are forbidden to taste. Your body moves like the tangle of rice and eggs, seamless and natural. Your touch is that of the delicate firm grasp of chopsticks. Everything about you makes them lose their weak mortal minds. A prefect katsudon fatale.”

Yuuri’s cheeks were a subtle rose pink as he rolled his eyes. “Do you really have to say that every time?” he grumbled. 

“Yes,” Viktor smirked in return, moving his hands to fix Yuuri’s hair. “You perform better when I do.”

To himself only, he would admit that the young veela no longer needed these little pep talks - seduction was engrained into their magical profiles, after all. It was part of their basic biology. But it had become their tradition, a running joke between them as Yuuri’s training progressed over the last year. Its birth had been the first time that Viktor had truly seen Yuuri smile, the first sign that he was starting to break through the thick walls put up by the young veela to let the light in.

He just hadn’t been prepared for that light, that hope, to be reflected back into himself.

Yuuri batted away Viktor’s fussing hands, working to undo all of the hard work he had been doing to get his sleek black hair to lay just so. Viktor sighed with a shake of his head as the young veela muttered something about too much product. 

Viktor forced his gaze away from Yuuri and looked long and hard at the soft blue blanket spread across the patch of grassy meadow. Their target was there already, early in anticipation for their ‘date’. 

_Intel collection_ Viktor reminded himself. And with any luck, it would be the last one for this contract - the target was getting too cozy with Yuuri. Too familiar. It was getting risky for everyone involved and each of the encounters left a sour taste in Viktor’s mouth that lingered for days.

Yuuri’s hard boundary for contracts was verbal flirting and teasing touches only. And Viktor was more than happy to encourage that firm boundary. It was important for the young veela to stay true to himself, to not be uncomfortable. There were others in the fae who could handle contracts necessitating more physical contact. 

Viktor drew in a deep breath, preparing himself to push Yuuri out onto the main path heading to the clearing ahead. He hated this part. _Soon, he’ll be doing this on his own. Without you,_ he reminded himself. He would no longer have to hover and critique. He wouldn’t have to spend the entire evening staring up at the stars as he tried to reconcile the churning in his gut.

His breath caught in his chest when he turned his gaze back to Yuuri, hair perfectly out of place framing his youthful face…And then Yuuri smirked and Viktor knew he was in trouble. He’d been caught _looking_. 

Again.

“Well?” Yuuri asked.

“Hmm?”

“Do you…want a taste?” Yuuri asked, cocking his hips to the side. 

It was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous, but Viktor felt his heart flutter anyway. Especially when Yuuri’s face drowned in crimson red. 

“I’m sorry,” he groaned as he turned towards the clearing, his back to Viktor. “That was really, really bad, wasn’t it?” 

Viktor agreed with a quick ‘hmmm’ as he bit back a laugh. Yuuri never made those little slips in the field, at least not any more. No, those little lines were meant for Viktor alone, and he loved it. He stepped forward and pulled Yuuri’s back against his chest in a tight hug, soaking in the light gasp of surprise as it slipped through the young veela’s lips. 

“Just go get us some answers, my delicious little katsudon,” Viktor said, voice low and hot against Yuuri’s cheek. 

He smiled as he felt Yuuri’s heart thud against his palms. He usually didn’t play into it like this, but today…well there wouldn’t be many excuses once Yuuri was cleared to work on his own. Though the way Yuuri melted so easily against him made him hope that…

Viktor mentally shook his head as he squeezed his pupil one last time. It was too complicated to read too much into his growing affections, for now at least. His job was to flirt with Yuuri and Yuuri with him, not to mention the additional complication of their auras which naturally pulsed in allure and desire. Most others in the fae told Viktor that they all eventually got used to the feeling after he himself arrived there, so he expected he would get used to Yuuri’s. But even after all of this time, Viktor still felt affected by his presence.

The sudden arrhythmia of his heart. The increased risk of permanent laugh lines with every passing moment. The butterflies that awakened with each chime of Yuuri’s laugh. The feeling of itchy emptiness under his palms that was only soothed by Yuuri’s skin. The way his breath caught in his chest whenever their fingers, elbows, thighs brushed on accident. The slow and steady retreat of his chronic loneliness.

With a long sigh, Yuuri finally slipped away from Viktor’s arms and made his way to the mouth of the wood. Right before Yuuri exited the woods, he glanced over his shoulder and smacked his lips together in an audible kiss. Which Viktor supposed he deserved for slathering up those lips in that ridiculous salve. 

(He wondered what it would taste like if he kissed it from Yuuri’s lips.)

Viktor smiled and waved his hand. _Someone's feeling sassy today,_ he mused, as he easily morphed into his wolf form. _Hopefully it would have good results._

* *  
*

A growl rumbled through his chest as the traveler shifted closer to greet Yuuri, causing Makkachin to stir in her sleep against him. Viktor pressed his wolf-body closer to the floor of the forest, hiding himself further from sight, when Yuuri’s eyes flickered over to his location. 

His shape-shifted form would help him blend in better with his surroundings and offer a threat great enough to make their target flee, if needed. However, Viktor was beginning to regret the decision. With his heightened senses, he could hear how well Yuuri’s seduction was going. Beyond the more obvious chimes of laughter, he could hear the quickened pace of the target’s breathing, how it caught at the top of his lungs whenever Yuuri’s eyes, his gorgeous galaxy brown eyes, smoldered at him.

The target’s heart thudded violently in his chest whenever Yuuri’s fingers brushed the back of his hand, his cheek…

A katsudon fatale indeed.

He tried to focus on the things that Yuuri could improve for the next time. His shoulders were slouching. His posture was shifted too far away from his target breaking the illusion that he was completely enamored by him. He laughed before completely swallowing his last bite of honey cake. He blushed just a little too deeply whenever the target touched him. He -

“If I had to choose, I would say green.”

Viktor smirked. While his performance still needed some fine tuning, Yuuri was getting better and better at rattling off the fake, incredibly detailed backstories - there was some truth beneath all of it of course, there had to be in order to create believable lies, but only Viktor knew what was actually true. And Yuuri’s favorite color was most certainly not green. 

It was blue like the frames of the glasses he insisted on wearing even though he didn’t need them. Blue like the water that his magic could so easily manipulate into ice. Blue like Viktor’s eyes, and yes, they were always that particular shade of volatile blue. Perhaps they had shifted slightly, but even perfection had to evolve with time.

Viktor knew he should be paying attention to what the target was saying, but he couldn’t stop looking at the way Yuuri’s fingers teased into the wildflowers in the grass, his magic was making them grow, change colors almost imperceptibly. He wondered if Yuuri even noticed what he was doing. 

The ‘date’ was mercifully short, ending after barely two hours. Viktor honed his vision in on the target’s face and smiled, heart leaping. The target’s eyes were flat and glazed over, lips and cheeks flaccid, expressionless as he stood up with his thick zombie limbs. Yuuri was speaking to him in a soft sing song voice, commanding their target to go back to the town and go about his daily life, to never speak of their time together, to never think about it again. 

_Mission accomplished._

Viktor shifted back to his human body and quickly slipped back into his leggings and loose tunic just as Yuuri entered the woods. 

“I think I got everything we need - it’s so much worse than the mayor thought, but they should be able to put him away for good,” Yuuri rattled excitedly as he scratched behind Makkachin’s ears. 

“Good,” Viktor hummed in approval. He loved seeing Yuuri so alight with success. “There are definitely a few things to work on for next time but - “ he paused, catching Yuuri looking at him with an amused expression. “What?”

“I was just thinking about the first time I saw your animal form…” Yuuri’s voice trailed off.

“Not what you expected?” Viktor teased, going off of the expression on his pupil’s face.

Yuuri shrugged. “Not exactly, but I guess I was half right.”

Viktor bit his lip in curiosity as the young veela stepped closer. “What did you think it would be? A dragon? Something that breathes fire?”

Yuuri shook his head as he tucked Viktor’s bangs behind his ear. “Silver fox.”

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted,” Viktor said with shaky exhale, catching Yuuri’s wrist in his hand before it could draw too far from his face.

“Your wolf has the same little swirl you know, just between it’s ears,” Yuuri smiled, twisting his wrist so that their hands met palm to palm as he pulled Viktor in the direction of the fae rift.

Viktor felt the slow whine as it leaked from his chest. “I was 27 I’ll have you know. Barely old at all. Anyway mister walking cliche black swan,” he paused to appreciate Yuuri’s incredulous smile shine. “Let’s go home.”


	3. Excerpt 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This little scene is from a chapter set a few after the events of the previous scene.

**Excerpt 3**  
_________________________________

 

Viktor drew in a deep breath as he stood in front of the impossible curtain of willow tree branches that surrounded Yuuri’s favorite meadow, one he had never even known existed in the fae until he found Yuuri dancing there one night. It was his last chance to turn back, to leave his feelings unsaid. 

There were two truths relentlessly chasing each other around in his head, each uniquely terrifying. The first was that he had almost lost Yuuri that afternoon. 

_‘I know what you are,’_ the target had whispered against the young veela’s ear, as he held his delicate wrists in an iron clad grip. 

Yuuri, brilliant Yuuri, had tried so hard to keep playing along. But Viktor had not prepared him well enough for the dangers of the world. He had been avoiding it to keep Yuuri’s nerves calm, but it was probably the opposite of what he should have done. He had prepared his pupil on how to get out of uncomfortable situations, but none of those drills posed such an immediate nor real threat as the one they encountered that day. 

Viktor had failed him.

 _’You say these things, things that are supposed to be commanding, and I hear them and I feel them tug in my mind. But then, I resist them,’_ the target had bragged with a smile so dangerous that it burned into the flesh of Viktor’s memory.

_’So many times I left you thinking that maybe you were just a man from the village - you look nothing like the descriptions in the tavern ballads after all. Maybe one of Babicheva’s men sent as a spy at the worst. But you aren’t, are you?’_

_’Tell me, samovila, what happens when a man as mortal as I steals a single hair from your head?’_

And Viktor had almost lost him. His best friend, the light of his life, his hope…

His body shook as he remembered the look of pure fear that had crossed Yuuri’s face in that moment before Viktor launched his wolf-body over the brush to tackle the target to the ground. (He could still hear the rush of iron beneath the target’s paper-thin flesh.) Because of Yuuri’s bravery and somehow clear mind (which truly amazed Viktor in retrospect), everyone had walked away from the encounter unscathed - physically at least. 

Viktor exhaled and slid through the leaves, mind made up. The second truth, stirred up by the events of the day, was that he was completely, absolutely in love with Yuuri. And he knew that he had to do something about it if he ever wanted to get any sleep ever again.

The secret meadow was empty and quiet, devoid of the little sparkling fae sprites that laughed and danced with Yuuri in the threads of silver moonlight. Viktor focused his mind, as his aura reached out for Yuuri’s. It was easy to find, the pulse of warmth and devotion that was Yuuri’s magical signature. It was still strong, he must have just been there. Viktor followed its traces through the branches on the other side. 

Unease pooled in his gut as his surroundings started to look familiar again. There were certain parts of the fae that Viktor actively avoided - the unstable bridge spanning the insatiable river, the plunging cliff waterfalls, and this - the eerily crystal clear lake. Its sandy bottom was always visibly undisturbed, like it was some sort of trap - because surely something so beautiful should not be so empty inside.

He arrived in time to see Yuuri crouching down by the edge of the lake. Viktor’s voice caught in his throat as he watched in awe. Because in that moment the surface of the lake started to change beneath Yuuri’s finger tips. It grew deadly still and groaned as it crystalized under the moonlight. He dropped a handful of stones to the ground a safe distance from the frozen lake, where tendrils of heat wafted off of them, hotter than blue flames now that the heat of the water molecules had been transferred to them.

Viktor froze when their eyes locked. He felt his own widen slightly in surprise, but Yuuri’s own remained calm, as if he had expected to see Viktor there. The warmth of their auras pulsed together and Viktor exhaled a shaky laugh. Of course Yuuri could feel him there, just as Viktor could whenever Yuuri was nearby. He shook off the fact that his own was probably uncharacteristically needy and wild after the events of the day.

He watched as the young veela smiled softly, bowing his head down to the ice, his body held in a purposeful posture. Viktor felt his feet move beneath him, taking him closer and closer to everything that made his heart pound. His eyes traced the slow movement of Yuuri’s hands as they slowly moved up to his face, palms up in offering before sweeping off to the side as his head tipped back. The stretch of his neck made Victor’s fingers twitch - he wanted to kiss there, run his lips up and up…

He forced his focus to widen so he could see the full story that Yuuri was etching into the ice and the night air. He had never seen the young veela move like this before. In the meadow he danced with a different purpose - teasing, inviting, dripping in tangible eros. It left Viktor burning and seeing green, uneasy that Yuuri might someday dance like that for someone else. But now, Yuuri’s movements were open and inviting in a different way. 

Perhaps it was because he was dancing in his veela form, something he normally didn’t do in the meadow. Why would he need to? He was practicing to seduce mortals, and he did so in their own image. Viktor could tell that the wings were throwing off Yuuri’s center of balance causing him to stumble a few times, yet he kept moving growing more and more confident with every step.

Viktor’s heart throbbed as Yuuri bent into his front leg, throwing his body back into the most breathtaking shape imaginable. He was dancing for someone, that much was clear by the look on his face. 

Yuuri was smiling. After all that had happened that day, he had found the strength to smile.

 _Who is it? Who do you dance for?_ Viktor wondered. His soul ached as he moved closer still, watching as Yuuri flowed across the ice, moving his feet in ways that shouldn’t be possible, launching himself into the air with such power and grace…

His body was spinning, arms drawing up and over his head before his feet came to a stop. His arms landed, one over his heart and the other reaching out, finger tips inches from Viktor’s face. 

_Oh_ he thought, _it’s…it’s me…_

Only vaguely aware of the cold beneath his toes, Viktor inched closer until he felt the solid warmth of Yuuri’s open palm against his cheek. He couldn’t help the shaky breath that entered his lungs, because he had almost missed this. He had almost stolen this moment from himself. Viktor reached out for Yuuri’s waist and tugged their bodies closer. He pressed his fingers between the young veela’s ribs, feeling as the space there expanded and contracted. 

Breath and life. 

Love.

“I almost lost you today,” Viktor whispered into the space between them.

The honey gold flecks in Yuuri’s eyes shifted and shimmered this close as he spoke. “But you didn’t.”

Viktor’s grip tightened. Yuuri needed to understand how gravely Viktor had failed and how it was never going to happen again. “But - “

“I should be better at things, my voice could be stronger. Strong enough to force them to tell me anything I want.”

Viktor choked out a laugh. How Yuuri could possibly think that this was his fault when it was actually the opposite? “Gods Yuuri, dance like that for anyone and they will give you anything that you want and more. You’re so - “

Yuuri’s eyes flashed in anger - a fierce spark that snapped Viktor’s jaw shut. He stood in silence counting their heart beats. 

One. 

Two.

ThreeFour. 

Five.

Yuuri’s hand pressed more firmly into his skin and his thumb grazed absently along the crest of his cheek, his expression softening considerably. “That was for you, Viktor, not anyone else - never for anyone else.”

Relief burned through Viktor with such ferocity that perhaps he should have been more worried about the ice melting below his feet. He as right - Yuuri had been dancing for him. And yet, he still had no words - what could be possibly say to such a gift? _I need you. I want you I love -_

He tighten his grip at Yuuri’s hips when he felt the feather light touches tracing along the marking on his forehead - a Celtic looking lattice circlet, dipping into the garnet gemstone embedded between his brows. How long had it been since someone had touched him like this, in his true form? Viktor let Yuuri’s eyes rake over his body. He knew he was beautiful in his true veela form, but the way that Yuuri was looking at him now made him feel…adored. Worshiped. Loved.

“And there’s something else too - something only yours- if you’ll accept,” Yuuri said, thinning the air between them to the point that it made Viktor dizzy.

“Anything - everything,” Viktor pleaded, swallowing deeply - the need to kiss Yuuri left a throbbing pain in his mouth aching in emptiness.

Yuuri’s hands slid down over his face, cupping gently at Viktor’s cheeks as he pressed their foreheads together. Their noses were touching, their breaths and heartbeats mingling together over the frozen surface of the lake. He was standing on top of his greatest fear but that paled in comparison to how he felt right then under Yuuri’s gaze. Because Viktor was in love and it was the most terrifying thing in the world, in all of his lives. 

Especially after today.

Viktor brought his hand beneath the tunic to the small of Yuuri’s back, pulsing low ripples of heat across his skin in encouragement. Yuuri teased his finger along Viktor’s bottom lip, causing his breath to hitch in his chest - Viktor recognized that move, though usually he was the one to do it to Yuuri. The young veela brushed the tip of his nose along Viktor’s, maddeningly slow, as his breath quivered. "Will you stay with me, Viktor?”

The request was barely a whisper but it echoed in the depths of Viktor’s heart like a firework. “Yes.”

“I mean it - I will tease and flirt just as you taught me, but no one will ever have me like you will.”

Viktor felt his heart flutter out of control inside of his chest, faster and faster in its freedom because finally, for once, Viktor didn’t have to stop himself from falling. He ran a finger along the blush blooming across Yuuri’s face, tipping their lips closer together.

“Yes, gods yes, Yuuri. Me too, I promise. Please, stay with me.”

Yuuri leaned up to meet him, touching their lips together in sinful softness. Their story was far from over, but for once in his existence, Viktor was perfectly content in truly living in the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed these selections from What the Water Gave Me. I really do hope to finish up the full work, which will likely be added on to this fic, editing the current excerpts when needed (with more pining, magic, characters, and an actual plot!)
> 
> Reminder to visit the rest of the works (fic AND artwork!) in collection - we’ve all been working very hard and I’m sure there are a lot of awesome prompts! I know I'm absolutely dying to 'unwrap' mine!!!
> 
> Again, happy holidays to the lovely DefiantDreams!
> 
> Dec. 2018– hoping to include the expansion of this fic as a project in 2019. Stay tuned :)


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